Jeff Astle's family set to lead tributes at Hawthorns
The family of Jeff Astle will lead tributes to the West Bromwich Albion icon at The Hawthorns tomorrow after opening their hearts on losing their husband and father.
A sell-out Baggies crowd of almost 27,000 will share in a day of celebrations for the club legend as Astle's wife Laraine and their children launch the Jeff Astle Foundation.
And, in an interview to be published in full in tomorrow's Express & Star on Astle Day, his relatives have spoken emotionally about how a condition dubbed 'boxer's brain' left him unable to recognise his children or eat for himself.
Several of his team-mates from the 1968 FA Cup Final victory over Everton will be at The Hawthorns for tomorrow's clash with Leicester City, when current Baggies players will wear a replica of the kit from the famous day at Wembley, when Astle scored the only goal.
Fans will be asked to take part in a placard campaign on nine minutes, spelling out at Astle-related message, while a special 140-page matchday programme will include a full reprint of the former striker's 1970 autobiography, 'Striker'.
The pre-match warm-up will take place to a 1968 soundtrack.
Astle's relatives will officially launch the Jeff Astle Foundation to aid other former sportsman affected by chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – the serious brain illness that claimed his life at the age of just 59.
And in an interview with the Express & Star, they have opened their hearts on how the disease robbed him of his 'sparkle' and eventually caused him to choke to death before their eyes.
Laraine said: "He had beautiful, blue, sparkly eyes and they just went dull, but he never lost his smile.
"Even when the girls came to see him, he couldn't remember their names but he knew he loved them.
"It was dreadful, and towards the end when he calmed down, it was a Catch 22 situation because we knew he was dying
"He just lay there, his eyes sank in his head, he looked grey and he walked with a stoop.
"And the last six months he went rapidly.
"He was 59 and when he was poorly he looked older but he went within a few months from being 59 to 99.
"I never want my girls to go through anything like that, so if we can get this foundation going and prevent other people going through it or make it easier for them, there is no finer thing we can do in his name."
